The Sociological View Of Love

One of the biggest outlooks affecting happiness is the sense of belonging, belonging to one’s family and community and with that belonging comes love. In other words one major outlook on life that affects happiness is love. But this concept is brought forth from a sociological perspective in that the outlook on love is mainly dependent on the person’s definition. That being said; “Sociologists do not seem to agree on a uniform definition, although there are several competing but complementary typologies that attempt to pin down those emotional and behavioral states that add up to romantic love” (Owens, 2006). For sociologists, the theory of love can be divided in to two schools of though. “[one] which argues love must have certain components

However, there are those that contend that love can take a more humanistic path to love as a facet of self-actualization that can comprise caring, cooperation, adaptability, and evolution. This so called path, however, still puts an emphasis on psychological definitions and outcomes that are based on perceptions of perceived happiness, as well as individual needs and wants for happiness. The very notion that love has sociological basis is rooted in the fact this alone can be the basis for conceiving love as a manifestation of a “cooperative principle” which has become increasingly important in evolution (Restivo, 1977). “Sociologists tend to psychologize love by defining it in terms of feelings. [It can be] summarized [that] the sociological literature on love by noting that most definitions of love present it as a strong emotional bond between two people which satisfies their needs to give and to receive happiness. Even when they focus on love as a relationship, sociologists tend to define it as a psychological state of mind that brings happiness. For example, [some sociologist] purposefully limit [their] discussion of love to the interpersonal bond. [They] do not, however, define love in terms of the bond but rather as a ‘pleasurable’ or ‘joyous’ feeling that brings happiness. The prevailing paradigm in the sociology of love is further characterized by an emphasis on the romantic aspects of love often to the point of equating ‘love’ with ‘romantic love’ [the] critique of romantic love is a notable exception. Some sociologists have noted the need to broaden the study of love, and to treat it in more strongly [in] sociological terms. These efforts, however, have been carried out within the boundaries of heterosexual relationships, courtship, and marriage and that this is